Donald Trump Net Worth: Richest President Ever

As of 12/13/16, the Donald Trump net worth total of $5.4 billion comes from numerous holdings in hotels, casinos, golf resorts and other properties. Trump has said his net worth is a much higher $10 billion. Why the $5 billion difference? It comes down to disputed values for Trump’s brand and several individual properties.

Trump inherited an estimated $60 million from his father in 1999. He has turned that fortune into a multi-billion dollar empire, though many dispute Trump’s own valuation of his worth. Trump claims the value of his brand at over $3 billion, while many in the media say it’s worth far less. Further, Trump’s official disclosure documents are vague, since the U.S. government only requires that candidates disclose the exact value of assets worth less than $50 million.

The Donald Trump Net Worth Story

The Donald Trump net worth story began in 1999 when Trump’s father died. Trump inherited part of his father’s fortune estimated at $60 million. From that point forward Trump engaged in a series of business deals, with some failing but ultimately adding up to overall success.

The numbers for Trump’s net worth published online are sketchy and range all over the fiscal map, reaching as high as $10 billion in 2016 and as low as $800 million in 2007. Based on our research, Trump’s wealth had grown to $1.4 million by 2007. He reached the $2 billion mark in 2010 and had hit $4.5 billion by 2015.

Donald Trump Net Worth Sources: Hotels, Casinos, Golf Resorts

The Donald Trump net worth sum gets most of its steam from properties owned by the businessman. The top-level view of Trump’s assets and debts is shown in the table below. Trump owns between $4 billion and $4.8 billion in assets like real estate and companies. He owns another $60 million to $172 million in stocks, bonds and other liquid assets. His brand is valued at $663 million based on annual income and branded deals.

Trump’s disclosure documents list 170 “employment assets” and 326 “other assets.” Of those, 23 are listed as simply, “over $50 million.” Trump Tower in New York is one of these, but estimates place its real value at $470 million. The Trump National Doral Golf Resort in Miami is another “over $50 million” property that has a real value of about $300 million.

Donald Trump's Assets

Asset

Value

40 Wall Street LLC

$475,000,000

401 North Venture Wabash LLC

$51,500,000

DJT Operations (Trump Aircraft)

$50,000,000

Fifty-Seventh Street Associates LLC

$50,000,000

Trump National Golf Club - Jupiter

$200,000,000

Trump National Golf Club - Bedminster

$50,000,000

Mar-a-Lago Club LLC

$290,000,000

Seven Springs LLC

$50,000,000

Trump Turnberry (Golf resort in Scotland)

$100,000,000

The Trump Corporation

$50,000,000

Trump CPS LLC 61

$37,500,000

Trump National Doral (Golf resort)

$300,000,000

Trump International Golf Links - Scotland

$50,000,000

Trump International Golf Links - Florida 70

$37,500,000

Trump National Golf Club - Colts Neck

$50,000,000

Trump National Golf Club - Westchester

$50,000,000

Trump National Golf Club - Washington DC

$200,000,000

Trump Old Post Office LLC

$125,000,000

Trump Park Avenue LLC

$145,000,000

Trump Plaza LLC 100

$37,500,001

Trump Ruffin Tower I LLC (This number is Trump's 50% of this property)

$87,000,000

Trump Tower Commercial LLC

$470,000,000

Trump National Golf Club - Los Angeles

$150,000,000

HWA 555 Owners LLC

$160,000,000

1290 Avenue of the Americas NY

$695,000,000

4% partnership interest in Starret City Associates 122

$37,500,000

Trump Tower Triplex

$70,000,000

Other Trump Properties

$338,703,560

Total Trump Asset Value

$4,407,203,560

Other Assets Adding to Trump Net Worth: $155 Million

The table above shows just the average of all “employment assets” in the Trump net worth data. That includes all Trump’s real property like Trump Tower in New York, 40 Wall Street, Trump International Hotel in Chicago, the Mar a Lago Golf Club in Florida and so on. What it doesn’t include is “other assets” like bank accounts or stocks and bonds. Those are easier to figure, since Trump lists 362 of them and none are over $50 million.

Trump has a minimum “other asset” value of $78 million and a max of $232 million. That’s an average of $155 million in “other assets.”

Donald Trump Net Worth from "Other Assets"

Min

Max

Total Trump Other Assets

$60,743,231

$172,601,125

Average Trump "Other Asset" Value

$116,672,178

The Donald Trump Brand: $663 Million

There’s one more asset in the Donald Trump net worth calculations: Trump’s brand. This is difficult to calculate because it can be worth whatever Trump says it is, at least for disclosure purposes.

The Donald Trump brand is unquestionably worth something. A failing golf resort that adopts the Trump name can suddenly turn a profit of $50 million a year. Golfers trust the Trump name, and Trump works hard to see that they continue to. Knowing that, Trump has successfully sold licenses to use his name on golf resorts around the world. Adding up the income from all Trump’s licensing and branding deals, we get a total of $36 million to $90 million per year.

$63 Million Per Year from Trump Branded Activities

Averaging the two max and min figures above gives licensing income of $63 million per year adding to the Trump net worth story. One way of valuing an asset is by figuring its total potential earnings for the next ten years. Doing this with Trump’s brand gives it total value of $663 million. That’s a far cry from the figure of $3.3 billion Trump puts on it himself, but it’s more than many news outlets assign to it.

Donald Trump Net Worth Debts

15 debts subtract from the Donald Trump net worth figures according to Trump’s federal disclosures. Four of those are listed as “Over $50 million.” The four debts over $50 million are for Trump Tower, 40 Wall Street, Trump National Doral and Trump International Hotel in Chicago. All the numbers on Trump’s debts are in the table below. The debts have a minimum possible value of $315 million and a max value of about $1.1 billion. The average of the min and max comes to $742 million.

Donald Trump Debt

Trump Debt

Min

Max

Trump Tower Mortgage

$50,000,000

$260,000,000

40 Wall Street Mortgage

$50,000,000

$262,500,000

Trump National Doral Mortgage

$50,000,000

$175,000,000

Trump National Doral Mortgage #2

$5,000,001

$25,000,000

Fifty-Seventh Street Associates Bonds

$5,000,001

$25,000,000

Trump Park Avenue Mortgage

$5,000,001

$25,000,000

Trump Plaza Mortgage

$5,000,001

$25,000,000

Trump National Golf Club Colt's Neck Mortgage

$5,000,001

$25,000,000

Trump National Golf Club Washington DC Mortgage

$5,000,001

$25,000,000

Seven Springs Mortgage

$5,000,001

$25,000,000

Trump International Hotel Chicago Mortgage

$5,000,001

$25,000,000

1094 S Ocean Blvd Mortgage

$250,001

$500,000

124 Woodbridge Road Mortgage

$100,001

$250,000

Trump International Hotel Chicago "Springing Loan"

$50,000,000

$51,500,000

Trump International Hotel Chicago Term Loan

$25,000,001

$50,000,000

Total Donald Trump Debts

$315,350,011

$1,169,750,000

Average Donald Trump Debt

$742,550,006

Donald Trump Annual Income and Growth

Annual revenue of $467 million adds to the Trump net worth number. After taxes and operating costs, that likely shaves down to around $102 million a year. Trump has also said his net worth grew by over $1 billion from 2014 to 2015, thanks to improvements in the real estate market.

Donald Trump Net Worth Calculations

Trump is worth a minimum of $4.4 billion and a max of $6.3 billion. Taking the average of those gives a final net worth figure of $5.4 billion. Why then does Trump claim $10 billion? In the first place, Trump values his brand at $3 billion.

Is Trump lying? Can simply being Donald Trump earn him an extra $300 million a year over the next ten years? If so, then yes, an argument can be made that Trump’s brand is worth $3 billion. However, if we take net worth to mean “how much does he really own right now,” the number is more like the $5.4 billion in our detailed estimate.

Donald Trump Net Worth: What Does it Mean Politically?

One person has said the Donald Trump net worth amount will make him a good president: Donald Trump. His stated reasoning is that if the goal is to make the country rich, then the best leader is someone who knows how to make himself rich.

Trump’s critics claim that Trump’s high net worth means he’s out of touch with the financial concerns of the average American. They also point to Trump’s somewhat malleable net worth (somewhere between $4 billion and $10 billion) as evidence he lacks integrity and will say and do anything to get what he wants. The Trump net worth debate is likely to rage on into the future.

Didn’t Trump Inherit all his Money and Didn’t he Go Bankrupt?

Trump’s father left him an estimated $60 million. That’s a lot of money, but to say the Trump net worth fortune was inherited smudges the truth. Many people inherit millions and wind up with a lot less only a few years later. Even if Trump’s net worth is the minimum possible of $4.4 billion, that still means he grew his holdings to over 74 times their original size.

Almost nobody gets that kind of return unless they really know what they’re doing. As far as bankruptcy, Chapter 11 is generally used in business as a debt restructuring tool. The business stays afloat and its creditors must renegotiate the terms of the debt. Trump has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy a total of four times for different businesses. In two of those cases a small percentage of his own personal assets were involved and in the other two they weren’t.

As of 12/13/16, Donald Trump has picked a cabinet that, according to some media outlets, has a combined net worth of $14 billion.